Dark 'n' Light: Is It Better To Grow Marijuana Indoors Or Out?

As legal pot growing operations spring to life from urban King County to remote corners of Washington state, an ongoing debate has developed within this new farming community.

Should marijuana be grown indoors or out?

'As Nature Intended'

For Toni Reita there is no debate. The diminutive woman with flowing white hair has been a naturalist, an herbalist, a log home builder and now a full-on pot farmer.

"It’s all going to happen as nature intended,” Reita said. “Those warehouses are beautiful, and those state of the art buildings and all the light spectrum … but it doesn’t matter what you pay for it, you’re not going to beat this.”

He said in a warehouse he can control the dark and light the plants get so they mature the buds properly. But keeping these lights cycling is expensive. That’s even with Eastern Washington’s cheaper hydroelectric energy.

Sunlight, of course, is free. Cooper is hoping that at some point soon the state will give out more licenses and he’ll be able operate an outdoor grow too.

If nature cooperates, outdoor grows can yield more pot -- but will customers like it as much?

Tim Thompson, one of the owners of the Altitude pot store in Prosser, Washington, said their customers haven’t had access to outdoor weed yet. But in terms of which they will prefer between outdoor or indoor, he said, “I really don’t think there’s going to be a difference.”

Thompson said he thinks it will come down to price. That theory will be tested in just a few weeks when farmers like Wilson and Reita bring their outdoor pot to market.